Contested Bayside Primary School Unanimously Approved By Council

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — Baysiders will soon be getting a new neighborhood school — but many of them don't want it.

On Thursday, Dec. 9th, the City Council unanimously approved a plan to bring a 572-seat primary school to 23-50 Waters Edge Drive; the site of a vacant lot on the corner of Water's Edge Drive and 24th Avenue.

The months-long public process leading up to this vote was contentious, with supporters and opponents of the project both citing concerns about overcrowding.

The School Construction Authority (SCA), which oversees the planning and building of the city's public schools, says that the school will help address overcrowding in the area's public school district, which is reportedly expected to see a 41.5 percent increase in students by 2026.

Neighbors who are worried about public school capacity largely support the plan based on this logic, too.

Some locals, however, oppose the school, taking to Facebook threads to comment on how it would limit parking, and increase neighborhood crowding and pedestrian safety concerns, Patch reported. (School overcrowding in the district has not been a compelling enough reason in the past to get school proposals approved.)

At a June public hearing with Community Board 7 and the SCA, the Community Board turned down the proposed school in a vote of 13 to 23, with nearly two thirds of the voting body expressing opposition to the plan.

After taking into consideration the plan's environmental impact, land use implications, and "other policy issues" related to the school, however, the entire present voting City Council body — including Bayside's outgoing Council Member Paul Vallone — voted in support of the plan.

At the Council hearings about the school, Vallone echoed sentiments about overcrowding, saying that there's a need for more than 1,500 additional seats in this subdistrict and upgraded learning environments, which the new school would account for.

"We have heard countless times from parents in our community about the need for smaller class sizes that can only be remedied by adding more capacity in our district," he said.

Similarly, SCA spokesperson, Kevin Ortiz, told Patch in a statement that the agency is "excited to bring a much-needed new school to this notoriously overcrowded district," adding that the facility will be "state-of-the-art amenities that our children deserve."

Not everyone was pleased to hear about the news, though. A spokesperson for Council Member-elect said that their office was "surprised as anyone that this vote was rushed through at the end of the term." The school went through a requisite months-long, public review process.

According to the spokesperson the Council Member-elect pledged to "still look into this matter and meet with all the stakeholders to see what can be done to see that this school will not negatively impact the community."

Related Article: New Bayside School Plan Nixed After Locals Fear Crowding